Rep. Antonio Delgado Welcomes Town of Greenport Water Superintendent to Committee Hearing on Rural Infrastructure

Press Release

At a Transportation and Infrastructure hearing, U.S. Representative Antonio Delgado (NY-19) introduced and asked questions of John Mokszycki, Superintendent for the Water and Wastewater Department for the Town of Greenport in Columbia County. Mokszycki is an expert on rural water infrastructure needs who has led many water projects in his community. This June, he's overseeing a project to replace 14,000 feet of pipe in the Town of Greenport.

"I want to especially thank Mr. Mokszycki for making the trip from Upstate, to tell the folks here in D.C. about the needs of rural communities," Delgado stated at the beginning of his questioning.

Delgado focused on the importance of sustaining rural communities through federal investment. "I have often found that absent a dense population center that can function as a basis for achieving profit, rural communities are marginalized as a result, because private actors don't have the incentive to invest in these communities," Delgado stated in the hearing. "And I would therefore hope that in promoting the general welfare, and promoting the public good--as is our responsibility as detailed in the Constitution--that government would at that point deem it appropriate to leave no one behind." Mokszycki agreed on the importance of public investment, and also spoke specifically about federal loan programs that have supported water infrastructure in the Town of Greenport.

In addition, Delgado discussed his support for the WATER Act. He is an original cosponsor of the bill that would provide communities with federal funds to invest in water infrastructure. It is particularly helpful for communities in New York's 19th Congressional District, as the legislation has specific funding for rural communities' water infrastructure needs and communities affected by PFAS/PFOA contamination.

Delgado is a founding member of the bipartisan Congressional PFAS Task Force and has been a strong voice urging the Environmental Protection Agency to urgently address water contamination. He invited Michael Hickey -- a community leader who brought to light the water contamination crisis in Hoosick Falls -- as his guest to the State of the Union. Delgado is also a cosponsor of the bipartisan PFAS Action Act that would designate all PFAS chemicals under the Superfund program because they pose serious risks to human health and the environment.

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